Treat dispensing chewing toy
View Patent ↗A module for dispensing treats to a chewing animal has a hollow treat holder that has at least one aperture through which a treat can be inserted by a person or removed by a chewing animal and at least one end that can be removably attached to an end of another of said modules. The treat holder preferably has two ends, a male end and a female end, where the said male end locks into the female end and there is a treat barrier recessed into the ends. The hollow treat holder may have a variety of shapes such as straight, triangular, U-shaped, spheroidal, cubic, and L-shaped. A single module can be used as a treat-dispensing toy or a number of modules can be assembled together to form a larger treat-dispensing toy.
1. A module for dispensing a treat to a chewing animal comprising
(A) a rubbery hollow treat holder having at least one partly barred aperture through which a treat can be inserted by a person or removed by a chewing animal;
(B) at least one open end that can be removably attached to an open end of another of said modules; and
(C) a treat barrier having inwardly-directed prongs that partly bar said open end, whereby a treat can be inserted into said hollow treat holder by a person or can be removed from said hollow treat holder by a chewing animal through said aperture or through said open end.
2. A module according to claim 1 wherein said aperture is star shaped.
3. A module according to claim 1 wherein said treat holder has at least two of said apertures.
4. A module according to claim 1 wherein said open end is circular in cross-section.
5. A module according to claim 1 wherein said treat holder has two open ends.
6. A module according to claim 5 wherein one of said two ends is a male end and the other of said two ends is a female end and said male end locks into said female end.
7. A module according to claim 1 wherein said inwardly-directed prongs are elastomeric.
8. A module according to claim 7 including a recessed treat barrier at each end.
9. A module according to claim 1 wherein said hollow treat holder has a shape selected from the group consisting of straight, triangular, U-shaped, spheroidal, cubic, and L-shaped.
10. A module according to claim 1 including a dog biscuit inside said hollow treat holder.
11. A module according to claim 1 wherein said at least one end is circular and about 1 to about 5 inches in diameter.
12. A treat-dispensing toy for pets comprising a multiplicity of modules according to claim 1 removably attached to each other.
13. A method of entertaining and feeding a chewing animal comprising inserting a treat into a module according to claim 1 and permitting said chewing animal to chew on said module.
14. A module for dispensing a treat to a chewing animal comprising
(A) a rubbery hollow treat holder having at least one star-shaped aperture through which a treat may be inserted by a person or removed by a chewing animal; and
(B) two end pieces fixed to said hollow treat holder;
(C) a treat barrier having elastomeric inwardly-directed prongs that partly bars said open end, where said end pieces can be removably attached to an end piece of another of said modules and through which a treat can be inserted into said hollow treat holder by a person and can be removed from said hollow treat holder by a chewing animal.
15. A module according to claim 14 wherein one of said two ends is a male end and the other of said two ends is a female end and said male end locks into said female end.
16. A module according to claim 14 including a recessed treat barrier at each end.
17. A module according to claim 14 wherein a barrier is in between said end pieces and said hollow treat holder.
18. A treat-dispensing toy for pets comprising a multiplicity of modules according to claim 14 removeably attached to each other.
19. A module for dispensing a treat to a chewing animal comprising
(A) a rubbery hollow treat holder having two star-shaped apertures through which a treat may be inserted by a person or removed by a chewing animal; and
(B) a male end piece and a female end piece fixed to said hollow treat holder, where said male end piece can be removably attached to the female end piece of another of said modules; and
(C) a treat barrier having inwardly-directed prongs in between each end piece and said hollow treat holder, whereby a treat can be inserted into said hollow treat holder by a person or can be removed from said hollow treat holder by a chewing animal through said aperture or through either of said end pieces.
20. A treat-dispensing toy for pets comprising a multiplicity of modules according to claim 19 removably attached to each other.